Second Hand of the Chosen Hero

Chapter Eight

They made haste in the trek down to the bottom of the chasm. It wasn't until they were nearly there that Link said "we probably could have ju-just jump-jumped, huh?" and Tya looked up to the very top and grimaced at the fact that they'd just wasted time in taking a leisurely stroll.

Regardless of how they made it, they did actually make it, and as they reached the lowest point, she began to wonder if that was actually a good thing or not.

A condensed mist of black billowed from the ground around a small white structure. It smelled almost like tar, not that she knew, but the sheer density of it made it hurt to breathe and prompted her to once again cover her face with her sailcloth. Link was far braver than she seemed to be, as he approached without doing so. He had brought the back of his hand up to his mouth at one point, but that was his only response. On top of that, the fact that he so boldly approached the column pressed into the cracking ground was another hint toward his courage. She wondered if he couldn't feel it; couldn't feel the pressure and the weight and the darkness and dread. Or if he just didn't care?

Tya doubted that his kind light was enough to combat the physical attack of this smoke.

She was far more cautious to approach than he had been. It was the design along the column that had gotten her attention, but as desperately as she wanted a closer look, that pressure was more. It was eager to drive them both back, anxious to see them gone. But Link raised the blade and as the light of magic coursed through the silvery steel, it was like he'd blown out a gust of air to force back the darkness. It dispersed in waves of black that curled outward.

The light pulsed in his blade, and after a moment of wondering what he should do with it, he glanced back to look at Tya. "Don-Don't make fun of me if I ge-get th-this wrong."

"I can agree to that so long as you admit to never having heard me say anything inarticulate at all, ever."

"That seems l-like- seems like a really high price for what I as-asked."

She had no intention of making fun of him regardless. She didn't know what to do either. Her guess would have been to stab the light into the ground since that appeared to be what was being sealed off. But Link opted for a different tactic. Again, he slashed outward, similar to the way she'd seen him do towards the crest within the statue.

His guess was far better than hers, it appeared.

As the sliver of sharp, solid light grazed along the ground, the soil drank it in. He took a step back, and as he joined her again he watched the pillar through wary, narrowed eyes.

The power emitted from his blade etched into the ground in the shape of a circle. Scrawled within its borders was Hylian that Tya couldn't even comprehend with its age. But she could feel the power not just from what Link had done, but from the seal itself. The words were so thick, riddled with something foreign- rectangular symbols she didn't recognize, with a slight purple to them that differed from that which emanated from the Hylian.

She set a hand to her chest. The aura of magic was already so, so abundantly overwhelming in this place- something alone that she'd never witnessed. But to see it work right before her eyes, to be faced with a power she'd never before seen...

It not only fed into her innate curiosity of the things lost to Skyloft, but it brought a warm sense of comfort.

The cumbrous atmosphere that had made the trek down the spiral so suffocating dissipated along with the mist that had been pouring from the cracks around the pillar. It was almost immediately easier to breathe, though that wasn't entirely a good thing. She couldn't tell whether or not her head ache was due to the sheer amount of bullshit she'd been privy to, the lack of sleep, or the over abundance of oxygen. As they made their way back up, she guessed that it was actually just all three. Maybe sprinkle in the fact that it had been over twenty four hours since she'd last eaten and that she was now cramming in various pieces to various puzzles. All unlabeled puzzles that lacked a reference image and had been stuffed into the same box together and very roughly shaken.

Just to play Hard Mode.

Her legs ached by the time they reached the top.

She was used to walking Skyloft, but the island was by no means big, and it wasn't the most mountainous region she'd ever seen either. In fact, until today, she only had had a vague idea of what a mountain really looked like. But now she could see them any time the trees parted overhead enough to let her.

As they reached the temple again, the old woman waved for Link to follow, but Tya was too busy mourning the loss of her legs to pay too much attention. Yet another point in the category of reasons she didn't belong there. She ended up taking a seat on the stairway to the dais they'd first encountered the woman on. She watched her hand over a piece of old parchment to Link. The very thorough creases on it said it had been folded time and time again.

She explained what it was- a map. Quite useful, because as she pointed out, this was a vastly unfamiliar territory. A lithe finger pointed out their current placement and then trailed along a path Tya couldn't see, to a point Tya couldn't see, to retrieve a girl Tya couldn't see. Link understood and sealed the matter with a nod. Before he could take his leave though, the old woman shifted, raising a section of her cloak so she could withdraw a vile from within and hold it out to him.

"I do not have much," she said. "But this will likely be far more useful to you than myself."

Link held it for a moment before seeming to understand what it was, then nodded as he slipped it into a pouch on his hip. After a small 'thank you', he turned, descending a few of the stairs so he could sit next to Tya. He hadn't bothered to yet put the map away, and so as he propped his arms atop his knees, he spread it between both hands for her to look at as well.

This gesture was such a small one that he likely hadn't even noticed it was important. And yet Tya leaned in close, thrilled to have been included.

"Where is it we are meant to go?" She asked, close enough that she was practically leaning on his shoulder. Which she had half a mind to do out of both exhaustion and appreciation, but wasn't sure he'd take it well.

Upon letting go of one side, she had to take up his place as the map immediately tried to fold in on itself. He indicated the pathway the old woman had told him to take, down to the point that was apparently their destination.

"And what is it that we need to do there?" Only after the second question left did she realize she'd said 'we' both times and he'd not corrected her. Maybe she was reading too far into needless details, but she didn't want to be sent home, and these small things eased some of the fear that she might. At the same time, Link was a nice boy... Perhaps he would be too nice to tell her to leave now that she'd actively rejected his request.

For a moment, she felt guilty over that, but as she reminded herself of her reason for being there in the first place, she realized that that anxiety would just have to be there. She couldn't abandon the person that hadn't abandoned her.

Link shrugged his shoulders in response to her question. Releasing his hold of the map caused the soft, worn paper to fold, and she let it this time, closing it up and watching him as he stood.

He looked at her expectantly, and she was slow on the uptake when it came to realizing that that meant she should get her ass up so they could leave.

That was a little bigger of an implication that she was allowed to stay. She appreciated it.